Yonge-Dundas is the very heart of downtown Toronto—in more ways than one. After all, the major arterials of Yonge Street and Dundas St meet here, and the resulting intersection may be the city's busiest (at least for pedestrians). Virtually every visitor to Toronto passes through here at some point.

Yet more than just the physical heart, the Yonge-Dundas area also represents the commercial and political heart of the city. Shop at the Eaton Center and relax at Dundas Square; take in a show at the Mirvish Theatre, or visit two magnificent City Halls (one classic, one modern).

There may be crowds, but they're all here for a reason. The heart of Toronto holds an important place in the hearts of Torontonians and visitors alike.

Subway line 1 runs under Yonge Street from Front St to North York, with stations at Queen St, Dundas St, College St, and Wellesley St. The Dundas station puts you in the middle of the district with connections to the Eaton Centre and Dundas Square.

Being U-shaped, Subway Line 1 also runs under University Avenue along the western edge of the district. The district is served by two stations: Osgoode (at Queen St) and St Patrick (at Dundas St).

Subway line 1 is also called the Yonge-University line.

Subway line 2 (also called the Bloor-Danforth line) stops just north of the district at the intersection of Yonge St and Bloor St.

43.657889-79.3825271Arts and Letters Club, 14 Elm Street (2 blocks north of Dundas St W), ☎+1 416-597-0223. Private club but some events are open to the public. See "What's On" tab on the website. The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto is located in a very attractive Victorian-era building built in 1891, which is a designated National Historic Site of Canada. The club brings together writers, architects, musicians, painters, graphic artists, actors, and others working in or with a love of the arts.(updated Dec 2015)

43.650825-79.3872472Campbell House, 160 Queen St W (Subway line 1 to Osgoode Station, or 501 streetcar to University Ave), ☎+1 416-597-0227. Tu-F 9:30AM-4:30PM Sa Noon-4:30PM, year round; Su Noon-4:30PM, May through September. This is one of the oldest remaining buildings in Toronto and is one of the few examples of Georgian architecture in Toronto. In 1972 it was under threat of demolition and a campaign started to save the house. It was at this time that it was moved to current location, restored and opened as a museum.Adult: $6.00; Student: $4.00; Senior: $4.00; Child: $3.00.

43.651762-79.3874053Canada Life Building, 330 University Ave (Subway line 1 to Osgoode Station, or 501 streetcar to University Ave). This building, built in 1931 by the Canadian Life Insurance Company, is one of the finest examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in Toronto. The building is perhaps best known for its weather beacon, installed on August 9, 1951. The beacon shines red for rain, white for snow, and lights running up or down it indicate a change in temperature. Normally, the building is closed to the public; however, its 17th floor observation deck is usually featured during the annual Doors Open event.

43.652541-79.3835124City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square (1 block west of Yonge St and Queen Station on subway line 1 or 1 block east of Osgoode Station on subway line 1). Toronto's modernist City Hall designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and was completed in 1965. Nathan Phillips Square features a reflecting pool that turns into a skating rink in the winter. The Peace Garden is on the middle west side of the square just beyond the elevated walkway. If you walk further west between the rear of Osgoode Hall and the modern Superior Court of Justice, you will see a park with a few sculptures and a fountain at University Avenue.

43.654683-79.3817505Church of the Holy Trinity, Trinity Square (On the west side of the Eaton Centre). This modest Gothic Revival church was built in 1847. It is approximately five storeys tall, and though the scale of the church is modest, its height is emphasized through details which point upward. With the rectory building, the church gives Trinity Square a rustic look despite the modern buildings around it. The square has densely planted trees along walkways, a decorative fountain of water falling from a wall into an ornamental pond, and an artificial stream.(updated Dec 2015)

43.655677-79.3784386Mackenzie House, 82 Bond St (3 blocks along Dundas St east of Yonge St then south on Bond St). Mackenzie House, built in 1830, was the last home of William Lyon Mackenzie, the city's first mayor. Mackenzie lived here from 1835 to 1837. Today the house has period furnishings and there is an exhibit of many 19th century printing presses in a nice mock-up of an old printing office. (Mackenzie was editor of his own newspaper, The Constitution.) Mackenzie abandoned the house after participating in a failed rebellion in 1837.(updated Dec 2015)

43.666793-79.3850457Masonic Hall (Gloucester Mews), 601 Yonge St (2 blocks north of Wellesley St and Wellesley Subway station). This very attractive 5-storey, Victorian-era building was built in 1888 as a Masonic Hall. The building has a distinctive tower-like fifth floor with a peaked-cap roof.(updated Dec 2015)

43.652670-79.3818258Old City Hall (York County Court House), 60 Queen Street West (1 block west of Yonge St). This landmark, built in the Romanesque Revival style and completed in 1899, has a distinctive clock tower which can seen along Bay St from Front Street. The architect was E. J. Lennox who also designed Casa Loma. Old City Hall was home to Toronto's city council from 1899 to 1966. The building is a National Historic Site of Canada and currently serves as the York County Court House.(updated Dec 2015)

43.652028-79.3859589Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen St W (Subway line 1 to Osgoode Station, or 501 streetcar to University Ave), ☎+1 416-947-3300. M-F 8:30AM-5PM. This beautiful building was originally built in 1832 to house the Law Society of Upper Canada. It now houses the Ontario Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of Justice in addition to the Law Society. The building is open to the public, call ahead to arrange a tour.

43.657612-79.38125110Ryerson University Student Learning Centre, Yonge St at Gould St (1 block north of Dundas St). Yonge Street's newest landmark is the Ryerson University Student Learning Centre opened in 2015. The eight-story building features a glass façade, an elevated plaza and a rather distintive entrance. The glass façade has a distinctive glass skin to reflect a variety lighting throughout the building interior.(updated Dec 2015)

43.6549-79.376311St Michael's Catholic Cathedral, 200 Church St (at Shuter; subway line 1 to Queen or Dundas, 501 streetcar to Church St, or 505 streetcar to Church St), ☎+1 416-364-0234. Gothic-style cathedral that is one of the oldest churches in Toronto.

43.654569-79.38668512Textile Museum of Canada, 55 Centre Ave (East 1 block from St Patrick Station and University Ave then south on Centre Ave), ☎+1 416-599-5321. This museum is dedicated to the collection, exhibition, and documentation of textiles. It has displays on historic & ethnographic fabrics, plus contemporary art & hands-on exhibits.(updated Dec 2015)

43.662997-79.38461314Toronto Fire Station 314, 32 Grosvenor St (near Yonge Street). Active fire station; interior not open to public. This Tudor-style fire station was built in 1929. Toronto has a number of attractively-styled fire stations built before 1940 in the older parts of the city.(updated Dec 2015)

43.662612-79.38381615Tower of former Fire Hall 3, 484 Yonge Street (Look north from the corner of Yonge St and Carlton St). All that is left of Fire Hall 3, built in 1872, is its elegant clock tower, the main structure having been demolished and replaced a retail building. The building owner did a nice job of renovating both the clock tower and the retail building, giving the latter a pleasant period look to match the tower.(updated Dec 2015)

43.655859-79.38086017Yonge Street map, Eaton Centre, Yonge St (at the SW corner). There is bronze map of "Yonge Street" set in the sidewalk across the street from Yonge-Dundas Square to promote the urban myth that Yonge Street is the longest street in the world. Until 1999, the Guinness Book of World Records supported this myth because it incorrectly assumed that provincial Highway 11, 1,896 kilometres (1,178 mi) long, and Yonge Street, 88 kilometres (55 mi) long, were one and the same.(updated Jan 2016)

43.653041-79.3790852Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre, 189 Yonge St (Subway line 1 to Queen Station), ☎+1 416-314-2901. These two theatres are the last remaining Edwardian stacked theatres in the world. They were opened in 1913, showing mainly Vaudeville acts. After the decline of Vaudeville, the upper level Winter Garden closed and the lower level Elgin was converted into a cinema. By the 1970s the Elgin was showing a mixture of B-movies and pornography, but in the 1980s the Ontario Heritage Foundation bought both theatres and restored them to their original glory. They now show mainly Broadway plays and musicals and serve as venues for the Toronto International Film Festival.

Tours of the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres. Thursdays at 5pm, Saturdays at 11 am; but check website for cancelations. This 1½ hour tour will recount the history and restoration of this National Historic Site of Canada. You will see the original and new lobbies, a backstage exhibit housing the Winter Garden’s original Simplex Silent Film Projector, a dressing room containing artifacts from the time period, and samples from the world’s largest collection of vaudeville scenery.Adults $12, Students/Seniors $10, cash only. (updated Jan 2016)

43.655238-79.3794183Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St (Subway line 1 to Dundas Station), ☎+1 416 872-1212. This theatre opened as the Pantages Theatre in 1920, hosting films and Vaudeville acts. In the 1970s it was split up into several cinemas to form a modern multiplex. It was restored and reopened as a theatre in 1989, most famously hosting Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera for more than ten years.

Here is a listing of some large stores and shopping centres listing them from south to north:

43.654-79.3811CF Toronto Eaton Centre, 220 Yonge St (Subway line 1: Dundas or Queen). Mo 10am-6pm, Tu-Fr 10am-9:30pm, Sa 9:30am-9:30pm, Su 10am-7pm. The Eaton Centre is the city's (and perhaps the country's) best known shopping centre and Toronto's most-visited tourist attraction. In large part, this is due to the mall's simply massive size, demonstrated by the eight-storey glass-roofed atrium running nearly its entire length between Dundas and Queen Streets. The complex boasts more than 285 shops and services, including most of North America's most popular brands, and two food courts catering for every taste. The flock of fibreglass Canada geese suspended from the ceiling are a popular photo op. In 2014, the Eaton Centre acquired the large, elegant Hudson's Bay department store building on the south side of Queen Street, with portions of the building dating from 1895. A tunnel, a footbridge and a street level crosswalk connect the Hudson's Bay building to the rest of the Eaton Centre.(updated Feb 2016)

43.6521-79.38002Hudson's Bay Queen Street (The Bay) (in the Hudson Bay building on the south side of Queen St), ☎+1 416-861-9111. The Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest company in North America, founded in 1670 as a fur-trading company but is today a chain of department stores in Canada. This flagship store offers a large variety of moderately priced goods.(updated Feb 2016)

43.6522-79.37943Saks Fifth Avenue, 1 Queen St E (in the Hudson Bay building on the south side of Queen St at Yonge St). This is the first Saks Fifth Avenue store in Canada and shares a building with Hudson's Bay which owns Saks Fifth Avenue. There are hardly any separators between the Saks and Bay areas of the building. Saks offers expensive, high-end goods (examples: pair of jeans $400, long-sleeved T-shirt $285, scarf $627, Manolo Blahnik heels $695).(updated Dec 2015)

Apple Store, Eaton Centre. Browse for the latest technologies, get help from an on site 'genius', or simply admire the industrial design of the latest Apple products.(updated Dec 2015)

Mark's, Toronto Eaton Centre, 65 Dundas St W. Casual and outdoor clothing. If you're coming from a warm country during winter, a popular store with locals that work outdoors where you might find fairly-priced winter clothes is Mark's inside the mall.(updated Jan 2016)

43.6564-79.38145Atrium on Bay, Dundas St between Yonge St and Bay St (direct underground link from Dundas Station on subway line 1 and the Eaton Centre). The Atrium on Bay has a small, 2-level shopping centre.(updated Dec 2015)

43.661109-79.3833046College Park, 444 Yonge St (SW corner at College St, College Station on subway line 1), ☎+1 416-260-2144. A small shopping mall in the former Eaton's College Street store.(updated Dec 2015)

Winner's, College Park (ground floor). Winner's is a favourite of Toronto's bargain hunters looking for brand name clothing.(updated Dec 2015)

43.661995-79.3797137Maple Leaf Gardens, 50 Carlton St (1 block east of Yonge St and College Station on subway line 1). Maple Leaf Gardens is a beautiful early-twentieth century hockey arena and was the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1931 to 1999. The building has been converted into a sports arena for Ryerson University and into a Loblaws supermarket.(updated Dec 2015)

Loblaws, Maple Leaf Gardens, ground floor. In addition to the expected grocery store selection, this Loblaws supermarket also features an 18-foot tall wall of cheese, a tempting pastry counter, a cooking school, open concept food preparation areas and a seating area to enjoy foods prepraed in the store.(updated Dec 2015)

Downtown Yonge is the shopping/restaurant area along Yonge Street from Richmond St in the south and to Bloor St in the north. (Officially, "Downtown Yonge" ends just 2 blocks north of College St at Grosvenor and Alexander Streets, but from a visitor's point of view, it continues seamlessly to Bloor St.) There are many small shops and restaurants mostly lining the sidewalks along Yonge St.

From Richmond St to Dundas St, there are small shops and restaurants lining the east side of the street opposite the Bay and the Eaton Centre on the west side.

Dundas St north to Gerrard St, is is a favourite of Torontonians looking for bargains despite being a little rundown and sleazy (with strip clubs and porn shops both being part of the ambience).

From College St to Bloor Street there are dozens of small shops, including several used book stores, comics stores, used record stores, dollar stores and just about everything else you can imagine. Although the stock may be a little run down, the area is safe, clean, busy and popular day and night.

43.656890-79.3813794The Pickle Barrel Restaurant, 312 Yonge Street (Atrium on Bay, NW corner of Yonge & Dundas), ☎+1 416-977-6677. A large menu of North-American cuisine. It also has a selection of dishes from further afield, their take on traditional English fish and chips is a nice surprise using halibut instead of Cod or Haddock. Reasonable prices, decent food but nothing fancy. Nowhere near as much fun as any of the above places.

43.6652-79.38605Ramen Raijin, 24 Wellesley St W Rear (located at rear of building on Phipps St), ☎+1 647-748-1500. Japanese Restaurant specializing in ramen, a noodle soup with a choice of meats and ingredients.(updated May 2017)

43.657692-79.3817236Salad King, 340 Yonge St (Almost 1 block north of Dundas Station, on the west side of Yonge St near Elm St), ☎+1 416-593-0333. Some of Toronto's best thai food in a very convenient location; just don't come here to relax. Often with a considerable line at meal times, the funky-cafeteria style seating certainly won't give you much privacy, but you'll see why people subject themselves to it. Try the golden curry chicken.$4-$9. (updated Sep 2015)

43.658298-79.3820687Swiss Chalet, 362 Yonge St (between Dundas St and College St). Despite its name, this restaurant chain was started in Toronto. The specialty is barbecued chicken with chalet sauce. As an appetizer, try garlic cheese loaf. Wheelchair accessible.$25 lunch for 2 with non-alcoholic beverages, tax and tip. (updated May 2017)

43.655967-79.3840149Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Cheesecake, 598 Bay St (NW corner at Dundas St 1 block west of Yonge St), ☎+1 416-591-0555. The cake has a light, delicious taste with an eggy rather than a cheesy taste. This shop can be quite busy, originally having 2 hour lines, but lately the line is shorter. Take-out only.(updated Dec 2015)

43.667958-79.3856851The Duke of Gloucester (Yonge and St Mary Street), 649 Yonge St (Subway lines 1 or 2 to Yonge/Bloor station then walk two blocks south), ☎+1 416 961-9704. Mon-Fri 12PM-2AM, Sat & Sun 10AM-2AM. Great no-nonsense English pub. Good selection of beer at reasonable prices. Not much in the way of food, though.under $15.

43.655532-79.38022523 Brewers, 275 Yonge St (Subway line 1 to Dundas station), ☎+1 647 347-6286. Mon-Thu 11-24, Fri & Sat 11-1, Sun 11-23. Great brewpub right across the street from the Eaton Centre. The beer is excellent and the food is in the style of the Alsace region of France, where the chain started.

43.655126-79.3860951Backpackers on Dundas, 126 Chestnut St (On the corner of Dundas and Chestnut; but the sign is on the second level, so be sure to look up!), ☎+1 416-599-7225. A bright and friendly hostel, extremely well situated within walking distance of Yonge and Dundas. Clean but only a few rooms, all dorms.$24-28, no membership needed, $10 key deposit.

43.656009-79.3785622Bond Place Hotel, 65 Dundas St E (2½ blocks east of Yonge St), ☎+1 416-362-6061, toll-free: +1-800-268-9390. Downtown hotel located near Toronto Subway System (TTC) and 2 blocks from the Eaton Centre. Rooms feature hardwood floors, LCD TVs and spa bathrooms. Other amenities include fitness room, business services, parking and airport shuttle drop-off.$159 and up (rates can be cheaper in off-season).

43.651154-79.3845085Sheraton Centre, 123 Queen St W (TTC: 501 Streetcar to Bay St), ☎+1 416-361-1000. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. This is one of Toronto's largest hotels and has recently been voted the ugliest building in the city. While it may appear horrid from the outside, it is the complete opposite on the inside. The lobby is full of wood paneling and dark red and the rooms are reasonably pleasant. Rooms on the north side of either tower provide wonderful views of Nathan Philips Square and City Hall. Amenities include a year-round pool, 24-hour fitness centre and business centre. The hotel is connected to the PATH.$130-$200/night.